Slurry applicator for an agricultural machine

ABSTRACT

A trough is cut in the ground surface by a rotating member. The rotating member displaces soil upward with respect to the ground surface and rearwardly with respect to a direction of travel of the rotating member. While the soil is in the air, slurry is deposited into the trough. The soil is then redirected downward to the trough to cover the slurry with the soil.

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/113,610 filed May 23, 2011 and claims priority to U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 61/423,462 filed Dec. 15, 2010, which applications areincorporated in their entirety by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to agriculture fertilizer applicators.More specifically, the invention relates to an apparatus for subsoilapplication of livestock waste in the form of slurry (animal waste).

Historically, livestock waste, particularly in solid form, has beenspread on the surface of the soil by a manure spreader using a flail tofling the material to the rear. A more modern side-discharge spreaderalso discharges the material on the surface of the soil. The advent ofconfinement systems for animals, which include pits below theconfinement area, produces a large amount of animal waste, which must behandled and disposed of in a slurry form. Typically, the slurry ispumped into a large tank carried by a wagon, but it is still, for themost part, spread or sprayed on the surface of the soil.

This procedure has, as a principle objection, a strong odor, whichresides after the waste is spread. Moreover, surface spreading of animalwaste creates a hazard with the potential runoff of nitrates into riversand streams or seeping of the material into ground water. This isobjectionable because livestock waste is high in nitrogen, and withincreasing concern with the quality of drinking water, this procedure isbecoming less and less acceptable.

Various methods have been proposed for depositing the slurry into theground. All the known methods, however, require dragging a knife throughthe soil to open a trough for the slurry. This limits the speed by whichthe tractor can travel and inefficiently wastes fuel by dragging a knifethrough the ground.

SUMMARY

A method is provided for depositing slurry into a ground surface fornutrition of crops and plants. A trough is cut in the ground surface bya rotating member. The rotating member acts by displacing soil upwardwith respect to the ground surface and rearwardly with respect to adirection of travel of the rotating member. While the soil is in theair, slurry is deposited into the trough. The soil is then redirecteddownward to the trough to cover the slurry with the soil. The rotatingmember may be a coulter blade that has a plurality of flutes formed on afirst and a second side of the blade. The flutes have a leading edgethat enters the ground substantially perpendicular with respect to theground and exits at an angle to eject soil upward and outward.

A power cylinder applies downward vertical force on an axis of rotationfor the coulter blade to keep the coulter blade at a substantiallyconsistent depth with respect to the ground surface. The depth of thetrough is maintained generally consistent by a spool positioned on theaxis of rotation of the coulter blade to resist downward verticalpressure from the power cylinder. A spring is provided to allow forupward movement of the coulter blade in the event coulter blade engagesan object in the ground.

The applicator disclosed provides substantially consistent coverage ofthe slurry that is in the trough while moving in a range of three tofifteen miles per hour with respect to the ground surface. In operation,the applicator can deposit more than six thousand gallons of slurry peracre in the trough with substantially minimal runoff.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT

These and other features and advantages of the present invention will bebetter understood by reading the following detailed description, takentogether with the drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tractor and tanker with a slurryapplicator attached at the rear for injecting slurry into the ground.

FIG. 2 is a rearward facing view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1showing six slurry applicators corresponding to six rows in a field.

FIG. 3 is a close-up view of the slurry applicator in area 3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a side view of one slurry applicator taken from line 4 of FIG.2.

FIG. 5 is a frontward facing view of the slurry applicator of FIG. 4demonstrating its motion through the field.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the slurry applicator of FIG. 5 demonstratingits motion through the field.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT

The invention provides an apparatus for injecting fertilizer slurry 132into the ground. While the disclosure is directed toward the use ofmanure as the fertilizer slurry 132, other forms of fertilizer may beused as desired.

FIG. 1 shows a tractor 1 pulling a tanker 3 that is full of slurry 132and an applicator 100 for injecting slurry 132 into the ground. Tanker 3has conventional pumps for moving the slurry 132 through hoses 110 tothe ground. Applicator 100 has six slurry injectors 102 a-f spacedapproximately thirty inches apart, measured between coulter blades 108,which corresponds roughly to the distance between rows in a field. Aperson skilled in the art will readily realize that a number of suchunits can be located in spaced relation, side by side, and at anylateral spacing desired by the farmer or operator. FIGS. 5 and 6 showslurry injector 102 in an operating motion where slurry 132 is shownflowing into trough 109.

FIG. 2 shows applicator 100 viewed from the rear. A frame 104 isattached to spreader 3 by a hitch (not shown) in a conventional manner.Frame 104 has a cross bar 106 that extends lengthwise and perpendicularto the direction of travel of spreader 3. Attached to frame 104 andpositioned beneath cross bar 106 are slurry injectors 102 a-f forinjecting the slurry into ground and covering the slurry thereafter. Asbest seen in FIGS. 5 and 6, each slurry injector 102 is comprisedgenerally of a coulter blade 108 to open a trough 109 in the ground, ahose 110 positioned behind coulter blade 108 to deposit slurry intotrough 109, and a pair of containment wheels 112, 114 to cover trough109.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show a close up view of a single slurry injector 102. Abearing assembly 123 mounts coulter blade 108 to a hub 116. Coulterblade 108 rotates freely on hub 116, and as applicator 100 moves througha field its rounded profile allows coulter blades 108 to cut by rotarymotion through the ground and eject soil upward to create trough 109.This has several advantages over prior art fixed knives that are draggedthrough the ground to open trough 109. For example, rotating a coulterblade 108 through the ground creates less drag than pulling a knife.This allows applicator 100 to move faster over the ground under lesspower and making the farming operator more efficient. Furthermore,rotating coulter blade 108 slices into the ground and ejects the soilwith virtually no compression of the soil on the sides of trough 109allowing maximum absorption of slurry 132 into the soil. This is unlikepulling the knife which compresses the sides of trough 109 as its pulledthrough the ground.

A power cylinder, such as a hydraulic cylinder 118 (shown in FIGS. 1 and2) applies downward force to frame 104 generally in line with eachcoulter blade's 108 axis of rotation to keep the coulter blades 108 inthe ground at a depth sufficient to create a trough. Power cylinder 118is easily adjustable allowing the operator to control the amount ofdownward pressure applied to coulter blades 108. Furthermore, havingdownward pressure applied in line with the rotational axis of coulterblades 108 reduces the amount of external pressure necessary to pushcoulter blade 108 into the ground. This is especially important forfertilizing fields with genetically modified crops, because the residueand corn stocks are becoming more difficult to cut. While coulter bladeshave generally been available for use in surface level farmingapplications to chop corn stock and other surface debris, coulter blade108 described herein is forced into the ground by power cylinder 118 toform trough 109 that is sufficiently deep to receive slurry. Until theinvention described herein, no agricultural machine has used a coulterblade in such a manner.

A spool 120 is positioned along the axis of hub 116 to function as adepth gauge. Spool 120 has a diameter larger than hub 116 with a largesurface area so as to engage the ground to roll across the soil, andtherefore resist being pushed into the ground. The depth of penetrationfor coulter blade 108 is measured by the difference between the radiusof coulter blade 108 and spool 120. By increasing or decreasing thediameter of spool 120, the depth of ground penetration can becontrolled. Incorporating the depth gauge with spool 120 eliminates theneed for an extra wheel and linkage assembly, as shown in the prior art,to control the depth of trough 109.

As best seen in FIG. 4, a C-shaped spring 122 is positioned betweencross bar 106 and hub 116. C-shaped spring 122 is formed from springsteel bent into a C-shape. C-shaped spring 122 is attached to hub 116 bybearing assembly 123 and attached to cross bar 106 by a pair of u-shapedbolts 125. C-shaped spring 122 allows coulter blade 108 to move overobstacles, such as rocks encountered during tillage. A person skilled inthe art will readily realize that various other types of springs orsuspension systems are contemplated within the instant disclosure of theinvention.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show a close up view of a slurry injector 102 as ittravels through the ground. Each coulter blade 108 is a wave-shaped discdesigned to cut into the ground and eject soil to create trough 109.Each coulter blade 108 (as shown in FIG. 4) has a front edge 138 and arear edge 140 where the distance between represents the diameter ofcoulter blade 108. Coulter blade 108 is formed from an approximatelyquarter-inch thick piece of flat steel with eight notches 126 formedaround its circumference and eight waves 128 or angled flutes to createa blade with a functional width of 1¾ inches. Wave 128 has its lowpoints near the center of notch 126 and it gradually slopes upward toits high point on radial line 129. The shape of coulter blade 108 isdesigned such that, in forward rotation through the ground, a leadingedge 124 of wave 128 cuts cleanly into the ground with minimalcompression of the soil on lateral sides of the cut to allow for maximumabsorption of the slurry. As leading edge 124 of wave 128 exits trough109, the angle of wave 128 as it exits the ground causes large chunks ofsoil 130 to eject upward out of trough 109 and outward away from hose110 leaving a void for slurry to flow generally uninterrupted intotrough 109. A person skilled in the art will readily realize thatcoulter blade 108 can take various shapes provided it is functional inthe manner described above.

Hose 110 is positioned behind rear edge 140 of coulter blade 108 todeposit slurry 132 into trough 109 as it is formed by coulter blade 108.Conventional hose clamps may be positioned to hold hose 110 in a fixedposition during operation. Slurry from tanker 3 is pumped through hose110 and out into trough 109. Because coulter blade 108 ejects dirt fromtrough 109 upward and outward, hose 110 can be positioned behind coulterblade 108 so as to deposit slurry into trough 109 without interferencefrom the ejected dirt, which is not thrown into the stream of slurryflowing out of hose 110.

Ejected dirt is redirected back to trough 109 by a pair of containmentwheels 112 and 114 positioned rearwardly with respect to each coulterblade 108 and hose 110. Containment wheels 112, 114 are pivotallyattached to frame 104 by a pivot bar 134 so that containment wheels 112,114 ride generally on top of the ground and move upward and downwardwith changes in ground surface level. Containment wheels 112, 114 areeach circumscribed by a plurality of tines 136 extending from the solidcenter portion of the wheel, which helps the wheel turn as it travelsacross the soil. The angle of retaining wheels 112, 114 relative tocoulter blade 108 can be adjusted so that substantially all the dirt 130ejected by coulter blade 108 is redirected to trough 109 leaving theappearance of an undisturbed or slightly raised surface. Containmentwheels 112, 114 are repositionable with respect to their angle anddistance from coulter blade 108 depending on the average operating speedof applicator 100. A faster speed of applicator 100 may requirecontainment wheels 112, 114 to be moved rearward and their angle to beadjusted to properly redirect soil 130 back into trough 109.

In operation, each slurry injector 102 cuts a trough 109 in the groundsurface with rotating coulter blade 108. Soil 130 is ejected up, out,and away from coulter blade 108. Slurry 132 is deposited into trough 109while soil 130 is in an upward position with respect to the groundsurface. The ejected soil 130 is redirected downward by containmentwheels 112, 114 back to trough 109 to cover slurry 132. Theaforementioned process works best when applicator 100 is moving at least3 miles per hour to eject soil 130 from trough 109. As far as maximumspeed, applicator 100 can operate smoothly in its intended manner in the12-15 mph, which is considered extremely fast for slurry applicators andgenerally beyond the limits of prior art devices. In fact, the speed ofapplicator 100 is limited by power cylinder's 118 ability to pushcoulter blade 108 into the ground and the horsepower of tractor 1pulling applicator 100. With the use of applicator 100 of the inventionslurry 132 is injected essentially into the subsurface of the ground. Asa result, crops more efficiently absorb slurry 132 as food and theamount of runoff contamination into surrounding streams is reducedgreatly.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and describedwith reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it should be understoodby those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes,substitutions and alterations could be made herein without departingfrom the scope of the invention as defined by appended claims and theirequivalents. It is intended that various aspects of various embodimentscan be combined in new combinations to create new embodiments within thescope of the invention. The invention can be better understood byreference to the following claims. For purpose of claim interpretation,the transitional phrases “including” and “having” are intended to besynonymous with the transitional phrase “comprising.”

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for depositing slurry into a groundsurface, the method comprising: cutting a trough in the ground surfacesoil with a rotating member; displacing a majority of the soil from thetrough upwardly and airborne with respect to the ground surface;depositing the slurry in the trough while the soil is in an upward andairborne position with respect to the ground surface; and directing thesoil downward into the trough after the slurry has been depositedtherein to cover the slurry with the soil.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the rotating member is a coulter blade with a plurality ofangled flutes to open the trough with minimal compression of a side ofthe trough to allow for maximum absorption of the slurry.
 3. The methodof claim 2, wherein the angled flutes of the coulter blade exits thetrough at an angle with respect to the ground surface to eject the soilfrom the trough upwardly.
 4. The method of claim 3, and furthercomprising applying a downward vertical force on an axis of rotation forthe coulter blade to keep the coulter blade at a substantiallyconsistent depth with respect to the ground surface.
 5. The method ofclaim 4, and further comprising controlling the depth of the trough witha spool positioned on the axis of rotation of the coulter blade toresist downward vertical pressure to keep the depth of the troughsubstantially consistent.
 6. The method of claim 5, and furthercomprising providing for upward movement of the coulter blade when thecoulter blade engages an object in the ground.
 7. The method of claim 6,and further comprising providing substantially consistent coverage ofthe slurry that is in the trough while depositing of the slurry isconducted at a speed in a range of three to fifteen miles per hour withrespect to the ground surface.
 8. The method of claim 7, depositing morethan six thousand gallons of slurry per acre in the trough withsubstantially minimal runoff.
 9. The method of claim 1, and furthercomprising displacing the majority of the soil behind an axis ofrotation of the rotating member.
 10. The method of claim 9, and furthercomprising displacing the soil outward from the trough and away from theslurry being deposited in the trough.
 11. The method of claim 1,depositing the slurry in the trough below a surface level of the ground.12. The method of claim 1, wherein the slurry comprises livestock waste.13. A method for depositing slurry in a ground, the method comprising:cutting a trough in the ground with a rotating member; displacing amajority of a soil from the trough upwardly and airborne with respect tothe ground; depositing a majority of the slurry in the trough while thesoil is displaced from the trough; and directing a majority of the soilinto the trough after the majority of the slurry has been deposited inthe trough to substantially cover the majority of the slurry with thesoil.
 14. The method of claim 13, and further comprising displacing thesoil outward from the trough and away from the slurry being deposited inthe trough.
 15. The method of claim 14, and further comprisingdepositing the slurry in the trough below a surface level of the ground.16. The method of claim 15, and further comprising providingsubstantially consistent coverage of the slurry that is in the troughwhile the depositing of the slurry is conducted at a speed in a range oftwelve to fifteen miles per hour.
 17. A method for depositing livestockwaste in a ground, the method comprising: cutting a trough in the groundwith a rotating member displacing a majority of a soil from the troughupwardly and airborne with respect to the ground and outward withrespect to the trough; depositing a majority of the livestock waste inthe trough while the majority of the soil is displaced from the trough;and directing a majority of the soil into the trough after the livestockwaste has been deposited in the trough to substantially cover thelivestock waste with the majority of the soil.
 18. The method of claim17, wherein the rotating member is a coulter blade with angled flutesthat exit the trough at an angle with respect to the ground to eject thesoil from the trough upwardly, and further comprising applying adownward vertical force on an axis of rotation for the coulter blade tokeep the coulter blade at a substantially consistent depth with respectto the ground, and further comprising controlling the depth of thetrough with a spool positioned on the axis of rotation of the coulterblade to resist downward vertical pressure to keep the depth of thetrough substantially consistent, and further comprising providing forupward movement of the coulter blade when the coulter blade engages anobject in the ground.
 19. The method of claim 17, and further comprisingproviding for upward and downward movement of a containment wheelpositioned on each side of the trough, wherein the containment wheel oneach side of the trough cooperate to direct the majority of the soilinto the trough while simultaneously traveling generally on top of theground without a positive force pushing the containment wheel in theground, and further comprising leaving an appearance of a slightlyraised surface after covering the livestock waste with the majority ofthe soil.